Illinois — school discipline
- The lines the state draws
- On suspension: "The board may by policy authorize the superintendent of the district or the principal, assistant principal, or dean of students of any school to suspend students guilty of such acts for a period not to exceed 10 school days." (105 ILCS 5/10-22.6(b)) On the shorter removals: "Out-of-school suspensions of 3 days or less may be used only if the student's continuing presence in school would pose a threat to school safety or a disruption to other students' learning opportunities." (105 ILCS 5/10-22.6(b-15)) On the longer ones: "Unless otherwise required by this Code, out-of-school suspensions of longer than 3 days, expulsions, and disciplinary removals to alternative schools may be used only if other appropriate and available behavioral and disciplinary interventions have been exhausted and the student's continuing presence in school would either (i) pose a threat to the safety of other students, staff, or members of the school community or (ii) substantially disrupt, impede, or interfere with the operation of the school." (105 ILCS 5/10-22.6(b-20)) On expulsion length: "The board may expel a student for a definite period of time not to exceed 2 calendar years, as determined on a case-by-case basis." (105 ILCS 5/10-22.6(d))
- Offices and appeal bodies in these sources
- the decision-makers named are district officers and the school board. On expulsion: "Expulsion shall take place only after the parents or guardians have been requested to appear at a meeting of the board, or with a hearing officer appointed by it, to discuss their child's behavior. Such request shall be made by registered or certified mail and shall state the time, place and purpose of the meeting." (105 ILCS 5/10-22.6(a)) On suspension: "Any suspension shall be reported immediately to the parents or guardians of a student along with a full statement of the reasons for such suspension and a notice of their right to a review", and "Upon request of the parents or guardians, the school board or a hearing officer appointed by it shall review such action of the superintendent or principal, assistant principal, or dean of students." (105 ILCS 5/10-22.6(b)) On representation: "A representative of the parent's or guardian's choice, or of the student's choice if emancipated, must be permitted to represent the student throughout the proceedings and to address the school board or its appointed hearing officer." (105 ILCS 5/10-22.6(b-35))
No state office, phone number, or email for parents appears in the sources reviewed, and the State Board's own discipline page names none; that absence is the finding. - Sources last checked
- Oct 24, 2026
Reproduced from the state's own statutes quoted below: potentially relevant official sources, not a determination of which one governs any situation.
This page assembles what Illinois publishes in statute about K-12 school discipline: who may remove a student and how, the notice and hearing the statute requires, what continues during a removal, what record the process leaves, and, because the statute assigns much of the detail to each district's own discipline policy, a map of the questions answered only there. The statute's own vocabulary appears throughout: gross disobedience or misconduct, the parent-teacher advisory committee, alternative programs under Article 13A or 13B, a hearing officer. District discipline policies add procedural detail this page does not carry; the delegation map below points at exactly those questions. For a student with an IEP or Section 504 plan, the disability layer lives on this site's Illinois special education page. Confirm applicability with the district and the agencies. All dates on this page are quoted from the sources, not a deadline calculation performed for you.
The framework, as the state writes it
Expulsion (Sec. 10-22.6(a)). The board's power reaches only "students guilty of gross disobedience or misconduct, including gross disobedience or misconduct perpetuated by electronic means, pursuant to subsection (b-20) of this Section". "If the board acts to expel a student, the written expulsion decision shall detail the specific reasons why removing the student from the learning environment is in the best interest of the school. The expulsion decision shall also include a rationale as to the specific duration of the expulsion." "An expelled student may be immediately transferred to an alternative program in the manner provided in Article 13A or 13B of this Code."
Suspension (Sec. 10-22.6(b)). The board itself, or by policy the superintendent, principal, assistant principal, or dean of students, may suspend for gross disobedience or misconduct, including on the school bus, "for a period not to exceed 10 school days", with a bus-safety exception: "If a student is suspended due to gross disobedience or misconduct on a school bus, the board may suspend the student in excess of 10 school days for safety reasons." "If a student is suspended pursuant to this subsection (b), the board shall, in the written suspension decision, detail the specific act of gross disobedience or misconduct resulting in the decision to suspend. The suspension decision shall also include a rationale as to the specific duration of the suspension."
Wireless communication devices (Sec. 10-22.6(b-5)). "Out-of-school suspension or expulsion may not be used if the sole grounds for the out-of-school suspension or expulsion is that the student accessed a wireless communication device in violation of the policy adopted and implemented pursuant to Section 10-20.88, 27A-5.3, or 34-18.14a; however, this limitation on out-of-school suspension or expulsion does not extend to the use of a wireless communication device to engage in other gross disobedience or misconduct."
No zero-tolerance policies (Sec. 10-22.6(b-10)). "Unless otherwise required by federal law or this Code, school boards may not institute zero-tolerance policies by which school administrators are required to suspend or expel students for particular behaviors."
When a short suspension may be used (Sec. 10-22.6(b-15)). "Out-of-school suspensions of 3 days or less may be used only if the student's continuing presence in school would pose a threat to school safety or a disruption to other students' learning opportunities." That determination "shall be determined on a case-by-case basis by the school board or its designee."
When a longer exclusion may be used (Sec. 10-22.6(b-20)). A longer suspension, an expulsion, or a disciplinary removal to an alternative school "may be used only if other appropriate and available behavioral and disciplinary interventions have been exhausted and the student's continuing presence in school would either (i) pose a threat to the safety of other students, staff, or members of the school community or (ii) substantially disrupt, impede, or interfere with the operation of the school." "Within the suspension decision described in subsection (b) of this Section or the expulsion decision described in subsection (a) of this Section, it shall be documented whether other interventions were attempted or whether it was determined that there were no other appropriate and available interventions."
Mandatory one-year expulsion — weapons (Sec. 10-22.6(d)). "A student who is determined to have brought" a firearm, or a knife, brass knuckles, other knuckle weapon, billy club, or a look-alike firearm, to school or a school-related activity "shall be expelled for a period of not less than one year". "The expulsion period under this subdivision (1) may be modified by the superintendent, and the superintendent's determination may be modified by the board on a case-by-case basis." "Expulsion or suspension shall be construed in a manner consistent with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act."
Online threats (Sec. 10-22.6(d-5)). "The board may suspend or by regulation authorize the superintendent of the district or the principal, assistant principal, or dean of students of any school to suspend a student for a period not to exceed 10 school days or may expel a student for a definite period of time not to exceed 2 calendar years, as determined on a case-by-case basis, if" the student has made an explicit threat on a website accessible within the school, and the threat "could be reasonably interpreted as threatening to the safety and security of the threatened individual because of the individual's duties or employment status or status as a student inside the school."
The second published text of Sec. 10-22.6 (P.A. 104-546). The text headed "(Text of Section from P.A. 104-546)", whose source note gives "104-546, eff. 7-1-28", draws grade-level lines the text quoted above does not. It limits expulsion to "students in grades 3 through 12" and states: "Unless otherwise required by subsection (d), in no case may a school board expel a student in kindergarten through grade 2." On suspension: "The superintendent of the school district shall be required to provide verbal or written approval to suspend a student in kindergarten through grade 2 for longer than 3 school days." On expulsion length: "The board may expel a student in grades 3 through 12 for a definite period of time not to exceed 2 calendar years, as determined on a case-by-case basis. In no case may a student expelled under this Section be expelled for a period exceeding 2 calendar years." Its weapons provision reaches "A student in kindergarten through grade 12 who is determined to have brought or possessed one of the following objects". It does not carry the wireless-communication-device sentence quoted above. The state publishes both texts at one address; this page reconciles nothing.
The published process
- Notice of charges and the hearing right before long-term exclusion
- For expulsion, "Expulsion shall take place only after the parents or guardians have been requested to appear at a meeting of the board, or with a hearing officer appointed by it, to discuss their child's behavior. Such request shall be made by registered or certified mail and shall state the time, place and purpose of the meeting." (Sec. 10-22.6(a)) For suspension, "Any suspension shall be reported immediately to the parents or guardians of a student along with a full statement of the reasons for such suspension and a notice of their right to a review." (Sec. 10-22.6(b)) At either kind of hearing, "A representative of the parent's or guardian's choice, or of the student's choice if emancipated, must be permitted to represent the student throughout the proceedings and to address the school board or its appointed hearing officer." "With the approval of the student's parent or guardian, or of the student if emancipated, a support person must be permitted to accompany the student to any disciplinary hearings or proceedings." (Sec. 10-22.6(b-35))
- Services during exclusion
- "Students who are suspended out-of-school for longer than 3 school days shall be provided appropriate and available support services during the period of their suspension." "Within the suspension decision described in subsection (b) of this Section, it shall be documented whether such services are to be provided or whether it was determined that there are no such appropriate and available services." "A school district may refer students who are expelled to appropriate and available support services." (Sec. 10-22.6(b-25)) On makeup work: "A school district shall create a policy by which suspended students, including those students suspended from the school bus who do not have alternate transportation to school, shall have the opportunity to make up work for equivalent academic credit." (Sec. 10-22.6(b-30))
- The record made, and the appeal route
- A hearing officer, where one is appointed, "shall report to the board a written summary of the evidence heard at the meeting and the board may take such action thereon as it finds appropriate." (Sec. 10-22.6(a), similarly (b)) For suspension, "The school board must be given a summary of the notice, including the reason for the suspension and the suspension length." "Upon request of the parents or guardians, the school board or a hearing officer appointed by it shall review such action of the superintendent or principal, assistant principal, or dean of students." (Sec. 10-22.6(b)) A route of review beyond that school board review or expulsion hearing is not stated in the sources reviewed.
- If the student has an IEP or Section 504 plan
- The disability layer (evaluation, the IEP team, manifestation determination, services during removal, and the dispute routes) lives on this site's Illinois special education page. The discipline statute itself states: "Expulsion or suspension shall be construed in a manner consistent with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act." (Sec. 10-22.6(d))
The four rows above answer the questions an experienced advocate raises first, from the state's own statutes, or record that a question is not answered in them.
Timelines, as stated in the sources
All quoted; none calculated. From 105 ILCS 5/10-22.6 and 5/26-12, as retrieved Oct 24, 2026.
On the length of a suspension: "a period not to exceed 10 school days", with the bus-safety exception quoted above allowing more. (Sec. 10-22.6(b))
On the threshold for a short suspension: 3 days or less requires the safety-or-disruption finding quoted above; longer suspensions and expulsions require the exhausted-interventions finding. (Sec. 10-22.6(b-15), (b-20))
On the trigger for support services: suspension "longer than 3 school days" (Sec. 10-22.6(b-25))
On the length of expulsion generally: "a definite period of time not to exceed 2 calendar years, as determined on a case-by-case basis." (Sec. 10-22.6(d))
On the mandatory weapons expulsion: "a period of not less than one year" (Sec. 10-22.6(d))
In the text headed P.A. 104-546 only, on superintendent approval for a kindergarten-through-grade-2 suspension longer than 3 school days: "If superintendent approval is not received by the third day, the student shall return to school by the fourth day." (Sec. 10-22.6(b), and again in (b-25))
On truancy-related administrative withdrawal: "a truant minor may not be administratively withdrawn for nonattendance unless he or she has accrued 15 consecutive days of absences without valid cause and the student cannot be located by the school district or the school district has located the student but cannot, after exhausting all available supportive services, compel the student to return to school." "A school district must make at least 3 documented attempts to notify the parent or guardian of its intent to administratively withdraw a student pursuant to this subsection prior to withdrawing the student." (105 ILCS 5/26-12(a))
What any of this means for a particular situation is for the agency and its processes to determine.
District delegation map
The statute writes the frame and expressly hands the detail to each district's school board, often through the parent-teacher advisory committee it requires. Each entry below is a question a district's own discipline policy answers, with the delegating text quoted. No district's code of conduct is captured or quoted here.
Who may suspend, and for how long on a bus. "The board may by policy authorize the superintendent of the district or the principal, assistant principal, or dean of students of any school to suspend students guilty of such acts for a period not to exceed 10 school days." Beyond that, on a school bus, "the board may suspend the student in excess of 10 school days for safety reasons." (Sec. 10-22.6(b))
The discipline policy itself. Each school board must "establish and maintain a parent-teacher advisory committee to develop with the school board or governing body of a charter school policy guidelines on student discipline, including school searches and bullying prevention". "School authorities shall furnish a copy of the policy to the parents or guardian of each student within 15 days after the beginning of the school year, or within 15 days after starting classes for a student who transfers into the district during the school year," and the school or governing body must inform students of its contents. (105 ILCS 5/10-20.14(a))
How bullying and at-risk behavior are defined and addressed. The school board "must include provisions in the student discipline policy to address students who have demonstrated behaviors that put them at risk for aggressive behavior, including without limitation bullying, as defined in the policy." (105 ILCS 5/10-20.14(d))
Whether a transferring student must complete a suspension or expulsion term in an alternative program. "A school district may adopt a policy providing that if a student is suspended or expelled for any reason from any public or private school in this or any other state, the student must complete the entire term of the suspension or expulsion in an alternative school program under Article 13A of this Code or an alternative learning opportunities program under Article 13B of this Code before being admitted into the school district if there is no threat to the safety of students or staff in the alternative program." (Sec. 10-22.6(g))
The captured text of 105 ILCS 5/10-20.14 carries a discrepancy worth recording rather than resolving: the General Assembly's site publishes the section as two texts at one address, one before and one after amendment by P.A. 104-648. The text before that amendment, quoted above, carries the source note "(Source: P.A. 103-896, eff. 8-9-24; 104-391, eff. 8-15-25; 104-430, eff. 8-20-25; 104-852, eff. 8-21-26.)"; it requires bullying prevention "as set forth in Section 22-110 of this Code" and reports "criminal and civil offenses committed by students". The text after the amendment carries a source note listing "104-648, eff. 1-1-27". It defines the parent-teacher advisory committee as one that "means a committee composed of representation by a school district, its parents, and its teachers." It adds: "Teachers must be selected for the parent-teacher advisory committee in cooperation with the school district's teachers or, if applicable, the exclusive bargaining representative of the district's teachers." It extends the reporting system to "criminal and civil offenses committed by students, including attacks on school personnel in accordance with Section 10-21.7 of this Code", and it punctuates the at-risk provision quoted above differently: "including, without limitation, bullying, as defined in the policy." The state publishes both without stating which governs; this page reconciles nothing.
Records access, as stated in the sources
Not stated in the sources reviewed (105 ILCS 5/10-22.6, 5/10-20.14, and 5/26-12, and the ISBE School Discipline page). The captured sections require a written suspension or expulsion decision and require that a hearing officer's summary and, for a suspension, a summary of the notice reach the school board, but none of the three sections states what disciplinary record is kept, who may access it, or whether or how it may be expunged. Illinois's general student-records law was not identified or captured in this review; that is a finding about this review's scope, not an assertion about what such a law says. Federal records rights under FERPA are federal and are not restated here.
Source map
| Document | Location | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| 105 ILCS 5/10-22.6 (suspension or expulsion of students; school searches) | ilga.gov | two texts published together: one from P.A. 104-657, its source note ending 104-657, eff. 7-28-26, and one from P.A. 104-546, its source note giving 104-546, eff. 7-1-28; retrieved Oct 24, 2026 |
| 105 ILCS 5/10-20.14 (student discipline policies; parent-teacher advisory committee) | ilga.gov | two texts published together, before and after amendment by P.A. 104-648; source notes ending 104-852, eff. 8-21-26 (before) and listing 104-648, eff. 1-1-27 (after); retrieved Oct 24, 2026 |
| 105 ILCS 5/26-12 (punitive action; truancy) | ilga.gov | source note: P.A. 104-430, eff. 8-20-25; 104-743, eff. 7-31-26; retrieved Oct 24, 2026 |
| Illinois State Board of Education, School Discipline | isbe.net | no date published on the page; retrieved Oct 24, 2026 |
| Article 13A and 13B alternative-program provisions the sections cite | cited in the sections above | capture pending |
| 23 Ill. Adm. Code provisions on discipline, if any | — | not located in this review; capture pending |
| A general Illinois student-records statute, if any | — | not identified or captured in this review |
| District student discipline policies | each district, per 105 ILCS 5/10-20.14 | never captured; the delegation map above points at them |
Change log
Oct 24, 2026 · Rebuilt against amended texts of 105 ILCS 5/10-22.6, 5/10-20.14 and 5/26-12 (attended drift resolution). Recaptured first-party under recipe tools/recipes/illinois-discipline.json (digest 8c837f6bc062), by curl with the recipe's pinned browser user-agent, four sources. What moved, and which kind of drift it was: quotations the sources now state in different words. The General Assembly amended all three statute sections and republished them; the State Board's page did not change. (1) 105 ILCS 5/10-22.6 is now published as two texts at one address, one headed "(Text of Section from P.A. 104-657)" and one headed "(Text of Section from P.A. 104-546)", in place of the single text this page quoted, whose source note read "(Source: P.A. 103-594, eff. 6-25-24; 103-896, eff. 8-9-24; 104-417, eff. 8-15-25; 104-430, eff. 8-20-25.)". The text headed P.A. 104-657 is the one this page was built from, plus a new sentence in (b-5) on wireless communication devices and a reference in (i) to the device policy. The text headed P.A. 104-546, whose source note gives an effective date of 7-1-28, adds grade-level limits for kindergarten through grade 2. The docket now quotes both source notes, section 01 adds the wireless-device sentence and a paragraph recording where the second text differs, and the timelines add that text's superintendent-approval clock. (2) 105 ILCS 5/10-20.14 had been published as two texts, headed "(Text of Section from P.A. 104-391)" and "(Text of Section from P.A. 104-430)", which this page quoted as disagreeing: "as set forth in Section 22-110 of this Code" against "as set forth in Section 27-23.7 of this Code", and "criminal offenses committed by students" against "criminal and civil offenses committed by students". That pair is gone. The section is now published as one text before and one after amendment by P.A. 104-648, and both carry "as set forth in Section 22-110 of this Code" and "criminal and civil offenses committed by students". The delegation map's discrepancy paragraph is rewritten to the new pair. (3) In 105 ILCS 5/26-12(a), the sentence this page quoted as "a truant minor may not be expelled for nonattendance unless he or she has accrued 15 consecutive days of absences without valid cause" now reads "a truant minor may not be administratively withdrawn for nonattendance unless he or she has accrued 15 consecutive days of absences without valid cause", followed by a new three-attempt notice requirement, and the source note adds "104-743, eff. 7-31-26". The timelines entry is relabeled and requoted. First detected by the nightly review on Oct 13, 2026 and re-detected unchanged on Oct 15, 2026, Oct 22, 2026 and Oct 24, 2026 (FA-Q-20261013-03). That queue entry described the P.A. 104-391 and 104-430 texts as belonging to Sec. 10-22.6; they were the two texts of Sec. 10-20.14, as recorded here. Not yet captured, unchanged: Articles 13A and 13B, any 23 Ill. Adm. Code provisions on discipline, and any general student-records statute. Internet Archive captures: to be added. Reviewer: Carrie Schluter (review confirmed 2026-10-24). Corrections on the record in this log: hello@fieldassembly.net.
Sep 1, 2026 · Deepened to a full page (discipline-layer deepening pass). Re-captured first-party under recipe tools/recipes/illinois-discipline.json: 105 ILCS 5/10-22.6, 5/10-20.14, and 5/26-12 from the General Assembly's own document server, and the State Board of Education's discipline page, unchanged in substance from the Aug 29, 2026 baseline capture (dates refreshed only). Built sections 01–02 (the framework route by route, the four hoisted process rows, the timelines section, the district delegation map, and records access) from those same four sources; no additional source was needed to reach full depth. Findings recorded: (1) the General Assembly's host answers a fetcher carrying no browser user-agent with HTTP 403, so these sections are captured with the recipe's pinned browser user-agent — a fact about the transport, not about the documents; (2) 105 ILCS 5/10-20.14 is published as two texts at one address that disagree on which section governs bullying prevention and on the scope of the reciprocal-reporting system; the state publishes both without stating which governs, and this page reconciles nothing; (3) the statute bars zero-tolerance policies generally (Sec. 10-22.6(b-10)) while itself imposing a mandatory one-year expulsion floor for weapons, a tension recorded rather than resolved; (4) none of the captured sections states what disciplinary record is kept on a student, who may access it, or whether it may be expunged, and no general Illinois student-records statute was identified in this review; (5) a route of review beyond the school board's own hearing or review is not stated in the sections reviewed. Not yet captured: Articles 13A and 13B, any 23 Ill. Adm. Code provisions on discipline, and any general student-records statute. Internet Archive captures: to be added. Reviewer: Carrie Schluter. Corrections on the record in this log: hello@fieldassembly.net.
Aug 29, 2026 · Baseline page created (discipline-layer breadth sprint). Captured first-party under recipe tools/recipes/illinois-discipline.json: 105 ILCS 5/10-22.6, 5/10-20.14, and 5/26-12 from the General Assembly's own document server, and the State Board of Education's discipline page. Findings recorded: (1) the General Assembly's host answers a fetcher carrying no browser user-agent with HTTP 403, so these sections are captured with the recipe's pinned browser user-agent — a fact about the transport, not about the documents, and the older fulltext.asp addresses redirect to the static documents captured here; (2) 105 ILCS 5/10-20.14 is published as two texts at one address, one headed "(Text of Section from P.A. 104-391)" and one headed "(Text of Section from P.A. 104-430)", and they differ — the first requires bullying prevention "as set forth in Section 22-110 of this Code" and the second "as set forth in Section 27-23.7 of this Code", and the first reports "criminal offenses committed by students" where the second reports "criminal and civil offenses committed by students"; the state publishes both without stating which governs, and this page reconciles nothing; (3) the statute states the suspension and expulsion decision-makers and the review before the board or its hearing officer, but names no state office, phone number, or email for parents, and the State Board's discipline page names none either; (4) the State Board's page describes what it publishes as sample material, stating that ISBE "is not affirming the legality of these resources and recommends that any school district developing its own policy base such policy on the unique aspects of its own school community and in consultation with legal counsel"; (5) Articles 13A and 13B (alternative programs), repeatedly cross-referenced by the captured sections, are cited but not yet captured, and no administrative-rule part on discipline was located in this review. Internet Archive captures: to be added. Reviewer: Carrie Schluter, reviewed 2026-08-29. Corrections on the record in this log: hello@fieldassembly.net.
Oct 6, 2026 · Internet Archive captures recorded. Captures requested on 2026-09-06 by an automated capture pass and recorded this date; no human review is claimed for this entry. No quotation, date, finding or link above was changed by it. Each capture below was requested through Save Page Now and then confirmed to play back. Captures added: isbe.net → https://web.archive.org/web/20260906131225/https://www.isbe.net/Pages/School-Discipline.aspx. Corrections on the record in this log: hello@fieldassembly.net.